How To Set and Sell Owner Marketing Appointments – PART 4

TRANSCRIPT: Now, be prepared. They may have been thinking about selling their vehicle and they may choose one of those times and you’ve got to be ready for that. You’ve got to be ready for that but, more often than not, even if they want to sell; they are going to ask some questions. Sometimes they are going to want more information.

Sometimes they will just say “No, I’m not interested in selling” and you’ve got to understand why because you cannot overcome ‘no’ unless you know the ‘why’. You cannot overcome the objection unless you know. You do need to learn to say some words like this, “Well, Mr. Jones, I can appreciate that, but it would be irresponsible for a dealer to give you that information over the phone”.

Let me give you an example of that: I just asked Mr. Jones if he can come in with his 2012 Cherokee to get it appraised. He may say something like, “Why can’t you just give me a price over the phone? I don’t have time to come in for an appraisal”. I need to say, “Mr. Jones, I can appreciate that you want to know what your vehicle is worth before you make the drive down to Stauning Jeep, however, only a trained appraiser knows what your vehicle is worth and it would be irresponsible for a dealer to give you that information over the phone. Now, I do have two appraisal times open on Cherokees this afternoon. I’ve got a 12:15 and a 12:45, which one of those works better for you?”

I want to be very clear that I end with “I have two”. See, I’m going to frame the next step in a way that overcomes the objection, okay? So, Mr. Jones says, “Listen, I just don’t have time to come down for an appraisal, I’m sorry”. “Mr. Jones, I can appreciate that but the best way for me to save you time is to schedule a priority appraisal with my used car manager. Now, I have two appraisal appointments on Cherokees open with him this afternoon. I have a 12:15 and a 12:45, which one works better for you?” What I cannot do here, what I can never do here, is give him a ballpark on his trade. There are only two things I can do to a trade, sight unseen, and that is low-ball him and the other is lie to him, and I am not going to lie to this customer.

I, also, do not want to send him to my website where he can fill out a trade appraisal form. At this time I just don’t want to give him any more information, I just need to get him to come in because I have a buyer and I have an immediate need for his 2012 Jeep Cherokee.

Now, you’ve got to be careful here. A lot of time these guys will give you buying signals, and when they give you buying signals, the typical salesperson response is to just vomit information all over them, right? So, you say,”Hey, I’ve got a buyer and an immediate need for your Jeep Grand Cherokee…etc.” and he comes back with, “Wow, I’m really interested. How much are you going to give me?” This is a buying signal. He wants to sell his Grand Cherokee.

You need to be careful. This is a buying signal that you cannot fall for. You cannot start vomiting information on Mr. Jones at this point. He says, “I’m interested. How much you gonna give me?” You need to be prepared and come back and say, “Mr. Jones, I can appreciate that you want to know exactly what you’re going to get for your Grand Cherokee. Now, I will tell you that we have a buyer and an immediate need and we are paying above book value. I’ve got two appraisal times open on Cherokees this afternoon. I’ve got a 12:15 and a 12:45, which one of these works better for you.”

Are you noticing that theme? I’ve got two, I’ve got two, I’ve got two. Believe it or not, by the third time you say, “I’ve got two…” to an owner marketing prospect, 90% of the people who will set an appointment will have set the appointment with you. “Quick question, Steve: What if someone is not willing to set an appointment with me?” They are not a fit. I’ve got a database of 1000 to 2000 people I can be calling. I don’t need to spend 20 to 30 minutes on the phone with a customer just chewing up my time who has no intention of ever setting an appointment. See, I don’t need him showing up like a traditional UP, because I’m only going to close him 20% of the time, and I’m going to do it at much lower grosses. I’ve got to set owner marketing appointments, and those people unwilling to set appointments with me are not a fit. Not bad people, just not a fit.

So, let’s do another buying signal, right? The guy says, “What am I supposed to drive home?” See, that’s a buying signal. When the customer says, “What am I supposed to drive home?” he’s already picturing himself out of his Grand Cherokee and into your new vehicle. He really is and you’ve got to be careful. You can’t just start vomiting information on him telling him, “Well, we’ve got $2500 cash back on the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and we’ve got 0% fi…” You’ve gotta stop. You gotta stop. Something as simple as this, “Well, Mr. Jones, Jeep has the best deals that they’ve had in a very long time going on right now, however, I have a buyer and an immediate need for your 2012 Jeep Cherokee and I have two appraisal times open on Cherokees this afternoon. I have a 12:15 and a 12:45. Which one works better for you?”

What if he says, “I’d love to come in but I don’t get off work till 5:00”, you need to be prepared to say, “Well, that’s great. I actually have a 5:15 and a 5:45, which one of those works better for you?” See, when I do my training live for some dealers and I say, “I’ve got a 12:15 and a 12:45, which one works better for you?” without knowing if the customer is at work or at home, or can even come in right away, I usually get push back from salespeople but especially sales managers who say, “Well, why would we try to narrow down a time. Why wouldn’t we be courteous and find out if he’s at work?”

Because I have a buyer and an immediate need and I’m going to create a sense of urgency by telling him I have two appraisal times open, one in about an hour and one in about an hour and a half – always on the 15’s and 45’s. So, if I make this call at 9:00 A.M., I’m going to say, “I have two appraisal times open this morning. I’ve got a 10:15 and a 10:45, which one works better for you?”

Sometimes sales managers will say, “Well, what if he can come in earlier?” Well, guess what he’ll say, “I can be there earlier”, right? Well then I will say, “Great, I’ve got a 9:15 and a 9:45, which of those works better for you?” “Well, Steve, what if he’s at work and can’t be there until 5:00?”Then he will say, “I’m at work and can’t be there until 5:00”, and I will say, “Great I have a 5:15 and a 5:45, which one works better for you”.